Russia’s Duma Council to discuss Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Jonathan Yerushalmy
After the Kremlin said last week that Russia could look into revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Russia’s Duma council will meet today to discuss this very matter.
Last week, Moscow signalled it may revoke the treaty – noting that the US has signed the treaty but not ratified it – further fuelling concerns that Moscow might resume nuclear tests.
By revoking the ratification, the US said, Moscow wants to increase pressure on Washington and its allies to halt arms supplies and other aid to Ukraine.
The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178 but it cannot go into force until eight specific holdouts have signed and ratified it. China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel have signed but not ratified it. North Korea, India and Pakistan have not signed.
Although the US signed but did not ratify the treaty, it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapons test explosions since 1992 that it says it has no plans to abandon.
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, raising concerns of a new nuclear arms race among Russia, the US and China.
Key events
In Ukraine, Suspilne is reporting that armed forces repelled a Russian attack in Novoprokopivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, and had “partial success” in nearby Verbove. It cited the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Monday’s intelligence briefing from the UK’s Ministry of Defence has its focus on Russia’s relationship with Iran.
It claims “international isolation has forced Russia to redirect its foreign policy efforts towards previously less-desirable partnerships to gain diplomatic, economic and military support”, asserting that Russia is now producing Iranian-designed drones in Russia under licence.
It adds “Iran recently claimed that Russia had invested $2.76bn (£2.26bn / €2.61bn) into Iran in 2022-23. Economic ties are highly likely to deepen as Russia seeks to mitigate sanctions.”
Russian shelling kills two in southern Ukraine
Jonathan Yerushalmy
Russian forces shelled southern Kherson region and other parts of Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring a dozen more, Ukrainian officials said.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson region, said a man had died in Russian shelling in the northern part of the region. Prokudin had earlier reported that a dozen people were wounded in attacks on different localities.
Russian troops abandoned the city of Kherson and the western bank of the Dnipro River in the region late last year but now regularly shell those areas from positions on the eastern bank.
In northeastern Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Synehubov said a man had died in shelling near the Russian border.
Russia’s Duma Council to discuss Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Jonathan Yerushalmy
After the Kremlin said last week that Russia could look into revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Russia’s Duma council will meet today to discuss this very matter.
Last week, Moscow signalled it may revoke the treaty – noting that the US has signed the treaty but not ratified it – further fuelling concerns that Moscow might resume nuclear tests.
By revoking the ratification, the US said, Moscow wants to increase pressure on Washington and its allies to halt arms supplies and other aid to Ukraine.
The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178 but it cannot go into force until eight specific holdouts have signed and ratified it. China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel have signed but not ratified it. North Korea, India and Pakistan have not signed.
Although the US signed but did not ratify the treaty, it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapons test explosions since 1992 that it says it has no plans to abandon.
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, raising concerns of a new nuclear arms race among Russia, the US and China.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Duma Council is set to meet today to look at revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), further fuelling concerns that Moscow might resume nuclear tests.
Elsewhere, Russian forces shelled southern Kherson region and other parts of Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring a dozen more, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
More on both of those stories shortly – first, here are the other major developments today:
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has expressed his “solidarity” with Israel in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. “I spoke with Netanyahu to affirm Ukraine’s solidarity with Israel, which suffers from a brazen large-scale attack, and to express condolences for the multiple victims,” Zelenskiy said on social media.
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Zelenskiy drew parallels between Israel and the war in Ukraine by stating that “Israel’s right to self-defence is unquestionable”. He said his government had set up an operational headquarters to aid any Ukrainians in Israel. Officials have estimated that about 15,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to Israel. While having sent tons of humanitarian aid, Netanyahu has consistently refused to supply weapons to Kyiv.
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Over the summer, Ukraine has “almost certainly liberated at least 125 sq km of territory” in an eastern area of the country, according to a British intelligence update by the Ministry of Defence. The Velyka Novosilka sector west of the Donetsk oblast town of Vuhledar has “become relatively quiet over the last four weeks” the MoD said.
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Ukraine’s air force expects a record number of Russian drone attacks on its soil this winter, its spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on Sunday, as Kyiv girds for a second winter of mass bombardment of its energy facilities. Ihnat said that data for September showed the use by Russia of Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones would smash last year’s figure.
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UN and local investigators are searching for answers in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv after one of the deadliest airstrikes of the war. The strike on Thursday turned the sole cafe and store in the village to rubble and killed nearly 52 people gathered for a dead soldier’s wake, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other top officials in Kyiv. Only six people in the cafe survived.
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Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, says that current violence between Hamas and Israel is useful for Russia in diverting the world’s attention and works in their favour. Duda argued in an interview with private broadcaster Polsat News on Sunday that conflict in the Middle East distracts international scrutiny away from Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine and may result in new migration pressures on Europe.
